The Post, the Present and the Future
by bbll22
Summary: *CHAPTER 3 NOW UP* Tom Tipper is Sodor's best known Postman and here along with the other members of the Sodor Mail team come adventures from a disaster on the rails and a rescue on the roads to befriending an old lonely man. New friends and old partnerships are made and I hope you enjoy! Please review!
1. Postal Disaster

bbll22's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Postal Disaster**

Disaster had struck on the Island of Sodor. In the middle of the night, the postal train had had a major accident. All of the postal carriages were destroyed and many letters were strewn across the land. Luckily, Percy hadn't been hurt in the accident, the same couldn't be said about Billy. The impact of several postal carriages and Percy going full force into him had severely damaged him. The Fat Controller wasn't at all sure if he'd ever return. Workmen were clearing the wreckage when the Fat Controller and Lady Hatt arrived to survey the damage.

"It's a disaster" muttered the Fat Controller

"Indeed" agreed Lady Hatt "I just feel very sorry for Tom Tipper now" she continued. The Fat Controller nodded his head in agreement. This was now a very serious situation indeed, with all the Postal carriages destroyed, the only way of delivering the post was with Tom Tipper and his only post van. The backlog would be immense, and Sodor wouldn't be the same for a good while.

Tom Tipper was delivering as much post as he could now, he was even working longer hours to try and get rid of the backlog, but it was no use. Despite hoe ever much post he delivered, more was coming in, and backlog built up again. The news wasn't getting any better, and the Fat Controller was getting seriously worried now. Then he had a telephone call, it was from Tom Tipper.

"Sir Topham" he said "I am gratefully happy for you in trusting me with this workload, but I am terribly sorry to report that my post van has broken down"

"Oh dear" replied the Fat Controller. He then put down the phone, and quickly made his way to his car. Lady Hatt accompanied him. The Fat Controller's blue car zoomed along the roads of Sodor, and soon enough they encountered Tom Tipper waiting by his broken down postal van.

"Get in!" said the Fat Controller to Tom. He then did so. The car then set off quickly into the distance.

"Where are we going?" questioned Tom

"The Scrapyards" replied Lady Hatt

"We're going to find help!" continued the Fat Controller. No-one then spoke until they arrived at the scrapyards.

When they got out of the car, the three of them surveyed the scrapyards for any sign of something that could save the dire postal situation. They looked for what seemed like hours, and they found nothing. The Fat Controller was extremely worried now, but then there was a sign of hope.

"Topham!" cried lady Hatt. The Fat Controller immediately made his way to his wife. He was very surprised with what she had found. It was an old postal carriage. Tom Tipper arrived soon after.

"Clarissa!" he exclaimed

"Mr. Tipper, nice to see you again!" she replied. The Fat Controller was very happy indeed now. Clarissa was coming home...

When all of them returned, Mr. Percival awaited them with a gift.

"Behold! The one and only Felecity!" he exclaimed. Felecity was a brand new post van, who combined with Clarissa would hopefully save this dire situation. Tom immediately got in Felecity and set off to deliver post. Clarissa was now filled to the brim with post, and with help from Percy, she set off to deliver as much post as possible. Harold joined in aswell and it carried on well into the night.

"This isn't easy!" said Percy. Clarissa agreed, the strain on her axle's was immense, but she carried on. Felecity was also struggling, but with some positive thinking, she overcame her problems, much to the delight of Tom Tipper.

"Well done girl!" he said

"Thankyou" replied Felecity. Soon enough, with some real grit and determination, Percy, Clarissa, Felecity, Tom Tipper and Harold delivered all of the backlog of post. When they finished, they celebrated.

The next day, the celebrations continued, the Fat Controller now had nothing to worry about, so therefore, he was happy and when he was happy, Lady Hatt was certainly happy. The both of them then went and personally saw everyone involved with the work.

"Well done" said the Fat Controller

"You did a brilliant job!" added Lady Hatt. These same words applied to everyone they met, and they certainly meant every word of it. They were just very thankful indeed, and as a reward, when they saw both Clarissa and Felecity, they told them that they would be staying, for good. The news delighted them very much, and when night-time came, they got ready for another night's work, that would be very fun indeed.


	2. The New Postman's Problems

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**The New Postman's Problems**

Tom Tipper was not feeling well at all. He'd been sick for the last few days but he'd ploughed on with work despite this. The Postmaster soon discovered how ill Tom was though and sent him away on sick leave. Felicity, Tom's post van felt bad that her driver wasn't around now but the Postmaster promised Tom's temporary replacement would be just as good. Felicity hoped this was true.

Next morning, Felicity was waiting the arrival of her new driver when the Postmaster walked in. He seemed very chirpy for once which wasn't very normal at all.  
"Felicity!" he beamed. "You're new driver is here and I hope you two do get along!" he added as an exceptionally tall man walked into view. Felicity was shocked by how tall the man was.  
"Blimey…" she muttered to herself.  
"Hello…" then smiled the tall man. "I'm Mr. Crouch. Christopher Crouch, you're new temporary driver." Felicity was still a little in shock when Clarissa the post coach was shunted into the yard. Their rails run by the side of the depot for the vans and she was equally just as surprised at the height of the new man.  
"He's a giant!" she exclaimed. The Postmaster just smiled and let everyone get acquainted with one another. Felicity though had only one thing on her mind as Mr. Crouch spoke to her.  
"How is he going to fit inside me?" she wondered. "I'm not exactly the biggest van around. I hope he doesn't get stuck." She then continued to think as Mr. Crouch then leant into view.  
"Felicity…" he said. "Time to go!" and soon the new pairing was off.

Mr. Crouch had just about fitted inside Felicity's cabin although his legs were wedged against her dashboard.  
"I'm sorry for not being any bigger!" Felicity apologised. Mr. Crouch just smiled and carried on. Soon, Felicity felt a grumbling deep within and found that Mr. Crouch was having trouble with the gears.  
"Why won't they go in?" Mr. Crouch exclaimed loudly as a crunch was heard as the gears were forced into position. This was not just a one off occasion as every gear change was just as fierce and with that, Felicity was in pain for the whole morning shift.  
"Ooh…" she grumbled to herself. "Please be nice…" but however hard she wished, Mr. Crouch seemingly changed gears even harder. She was glad when they stopped as it allowed her time to recover but it wasn't long enough as Mr. Crouch was an extremely quick walker and soon delivered all the post in one village on foot.  
"Were doing well, aren't we?" smiled Mr. Crouch brightly as he returned to Felicity. All she could do was smile through the pain barrier and hope the shift was soon over.

When her break came, Felicity told everything to Clarissa at the depot and expressed her hope for Tom Tipper's return.  
"I'm sure he's just settling in…" reassured Clarissa as men loaded her to the brim with parcels for the Mainland. "It'll be better the next time. It was just nerves." Felicity didn't seem to agree and just slept off her pains as Clarissa was taken away by Percy to start the late night special. As the night wore on, Felicity kept dreaming about Tom Tipper returning the next day but she also felt bad for Mr. Crouch at the same time as she was sure he didn't mean any harm, but with the pain she was in, that thought soon went. In the distance, a clatter of thunder stirred Felicity from her slumber and there she saw the heavy rain that didn't look like stopping.  
"Please rain will you go away? And while you're there, please bring Mr. Tipper back as I don't think my gearbox will hold for much longer…" she muttered to herself as she then watched the rain until she went back to sleep.

When morning arrived Felicity saw the Postmaster in the distance and thought he was here to tell her some good news.  
"Is Mr. Tipper back?" she blurted sleepily. The Postmaster just turned around and smiled.  
"No, not today Felicity…" he said. "He'll be back next week I can assure you that, but I think you and Mr. Crouch are getting along fine…"  
"I would be if he wouldn't keep changing gear so violently…" Felicity retorted. "It hurts!"  
"I'll have a word with him then just to make sure he's aware…" the Postmaster said as he then went to the staff area. While Felicity waited, she saw the rain from last night was still pouring down heavily and it didn't look like stopping in the slightest. The Postmaster then appeared with Mr. Crouch at his side and explained the gear change concerns. He seemed surprised and quickly apologised to Felicity. She was thankful of that and soon they set off, but it was too quick for the Postmaster as he needed to warn them of a dangerous route. The heavy rain was flooding rivers and banks were at the point of bursting. One in particular was a route Felicity always went on. The Postmaster just looked on and hoped they'd be alright.

As the rain lashed down, Felicity was once again subjected to harsh gear changes that were hurting her at every moment.  
"Please can you be gentler?" she then called out to Mr. Crouch. "It is really hurting me!" but Mr. Crouch seemingly didn't hear as the heavy rain continued to rage on. Soon, they were coming to a road by a river which was at the point of bursting its banks.  
"We best be quick!" Mr. Crouch then cried as Felicity sped up but as the gears were changed something went snap and Felicity crawled to a stop. Both of them looked on horrified as the river's banks burst just moments later. Water came gushing along and flooded the road all around them. Mr. Crouch got out of the cabin in the panic and climbed onto Felicity's roof.  
"What are you doing?" Felicity cried. "First my gears and now my roof…do you want to keep on damaging me?"  
"It's for safety!" Mr. Crouch called back. "And I am sorry for all of this!" Felicity just kept on panicking as the water level rose around her. Soon it was almost level with her chin and she was really beginning to worry then.  
"HELP!" she called out in her loudest voice possible. Mr. Crouch soon did the same and in the distance the pair of them could see Harold the Helicopter surveying the damage. The pair of them did whatever they could to attract his attention and soon he saw them.  
"Oh my!" Harold called out. "We're going to help you!"  
"Be quick!" cried Felicity as the water level rose even more.

Harold was soon into action as a rope was dropped down for Mr. Crouch to hang onto and soon he was raised to safety. Felicity just kept on panicking as the torrent of water was soon level with her nose. She couldn't speak and all she could do was look even more scared than before. Harold knew he couldn't pull Felicity to safety and he was too far away to help her but he waited until help arrived. It soon came in the form of Mavis who was nearby at the time. She would pull Felicity to safety but only until a rope was firmly attached to her. One of Harold's crew bravely volunteered to be dropped into the waters to tie the rope to Felicity. Once he'd done that, he threw the other end to Mavis' driver and attached it to her.  
"And pull…." commanded Harold and Mavis complied. She pulled with all her strength and her wheels slipped but kept on gripping to the tracks. Felicity by now had closed her eyes and just kept on hoping she'd be safe. Soon, Mavis' strength was enough to pull Felicity out of the ever-rising waters and soon onto higher ground. She felt wet but safe.

Later on, when both Felicity and Mr. Crouch were recovering back at the depot, the Postmaster looked extremely relieved.  
"You shouldn't set off that quick!" he said. "I was about to warn you of the rivers possibly bursting their banks, but you zoomed off!"  
"I'm sorry…" said Felicity.  
"I think it's more my fault…" added Mr. Crouch. "And I assure you Postmaster that I will cover for the repairs on Felicity's damage." Felicity looked on surprised as did the Postmaster.  
"You'd do that for me?" Felicity said astonished.  
"Oh of course…" smiled Mr. Crouch. "You're a very useful post van and Mr. Tipper is extremely lucky to have you." Felicity just smiled and as Clarissa was pushed into the yard, she could see the pair of them looked good friends.  
"See, I told you it was just first day nerves!" she smiled.  
"Oh, but it was a far more eventful second day…" laughed Felicity.  
"Why? What happened?" quizzed Clarissa as soon Felicity and Mr. Crouch told her of the event of the day…


	3. Making Mr Deacon Smile

Lee's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

Stories

**Making Mr Deacon Smile**

It was early one morning when Felicity the post van and Tom Tipper were out on duty. It was raining lightly but it was nothing too bad to dampen their good spirits. Felicity always smiled on duty and was happy to be working with Tom. However, every morning there was always something that put a dampener on the morning's duties. There was a lonely old house towards the end of Felicity and Tom's route that housed a man who was never ever nice and kind. Come rain or shine he was always in a bad mood. His name was Mr Deacon and he always seemed unhappy. This morning was no different.  
"Mr Deacon…" beamed Tom as he handed him his post for the day. "Hope everything's in order."  
"I'm fine. Just leave me…" grumbled Mr Deacon before he slammed the door firmly shut. It was that sudden it caught Tom off guard. As he made his way back to Felicity, he just shook his head in despair.  
"It would be nice if he said thankyou atleast once…" Tom said to himself.  
"What's the matter with him?" asked Felicity.  
"No one knows…" answered Tom as he sat back in the driver's seat. "As long as I've been a postman, he's always been like it. The house has only recently gone into disrepair though."  
"Is it just him in the house though?" Felicity then pondered.  
"No-one's sure." replied Tom. "Mr Deacon is an enigma to the rest of Sodor."  
"An enigma?" wondered Felicity.  
"A puzzle…." answered Tom. "He's a puzzle no-one can work out…." he added as they set off to complete their round. As they left, both could see a figure looking out from one of the houses windows. It was Mr Deacon just staring out at no-one in particular. It unsettled Felicity greatly and really did end her good mood altogether.

When the pair returned to the post depot some time later, Clarissa the post carriage, Felicity's great friend, could see they weren't in the greatest of moods.  
"What's the matter?" she asked kindly as Tom parked Felicity into place.  
"Oh, you know…." said Felicity in exasperation.  
"Mr Deacon?" smiled Clarissa already knowing it was the answer. Felicity just smiled in agreement. "It's best if you and Tom don't let him get to you at all. He's gotten the better of many vans and people over the years, so there's no point in allowing you two to be added to that list."  
"But what is the matter with him though?" asked Felicity. "He looks like a sweet old man really but he's far from it." Just then Oliver reversed in with some empty post carriages to finish off his through the night shift. He could see Felicity wasn't in a great mood at all.  
"Oh, Mr Deacon's been at his old tricks again then?" he smiled. "Don't worry. He's got to the best of us. Me included."  
"Felicity was wondering what exactly is up with him." Clarissa then pointed out. "Do you know Oliver?"  
"There are stories all about him and why he's like he is, but no-one is sure. All I know is that he lives on his own and that's that."  
"Being on your own isn't going to help is it?" Felicity then said. "He's lonely, that's what it is!" she then smiled.  
"Lonely?" said Clarissa. "This is the man that shuns people wanting to talk to him remember, how can he be lonely?"  
"I don't know…" came the reply. "But I think it's the only way to solve it." Felicity then smiled. Oliver and Clarissa looked at each other unsure of what to think but Felicity's wide smile sent them in agreement. "When he's not alone with the right company, he'll smile….I'm sure of it." Felicity then added.

Days passed and for now Felicity was adamant that Mr Deacon's problems were all down to him being lonely but after each day passed with Tom having the door shut in his face again, she began to doubt herself.  
"He won't ever smile will he?" she then wondered.  
"It's not likely…" agreed Tom as he sat back in the driver's seat once more. When they returned to the depot, the manager was around just checking on everything.  
"Anything the matter you two?" he asked cheerily not expecting a problem.  
"No…." said Tom.  
"There is though…" said Felicity. "It's Mr Deacon. He just puts everyone on edge and makes me feel really uncomfortable. Do you know what's the matter with him?"  
"He's on his own as far as I'm aware…" said the manager. "Has been for some time since his wife passed away. His son lives on the Mainland, so it's just him."  
"It's a fair enough reason then I suppose…" said Tom. "He's hurting from the loneliness." This then gave Felicity an idea.  
"So, if we invited his son back to the Island, do you think he'd be happy?" Felicity then wondered. Tom thought it might be a good idea too and spoke to the manager about it.  
"I'll see what I can do. I spoke to his son quite a lot. He was a nice chap." the manager then smiled as he went off to his office. Felicity couldn't hide her excitement and beamed a wide smile. Clarissa has heard everything and was smiling just as wide.  
"You might be onto a winner here then!" she grinned.

A few days later and the plan was in action. Mr Deacon's son had come to the Island out of his own generosity and was happy to help.  
"I've tried to get in contact with father endlessly since I moved…" said the son, "but I just don't get a response. Letters and phone calls get no reply at all. I know he's still alive but I thought he was just ignoring me."  
"I don't think that's the case…" Felicity then smiled. "Seeing you in the flesh will bring his smile back I'm sure."  
"If I'd have known how bad it had got, I would have come back much sooner." the son then said.  
"It's not your fault…" Tom then said as he and the son got into Felicity. "So, let's just go and make your dad happy." he added as they zoomed off. Clarissa watched on with a wide smile on her face. She was certain the plan would work but still had a little doubt somewhere at the back of her mind. The same feeling was true for Tom, Felicity and Mr Deacon's son. They were all unsure if it would work but they were going ahead with it. Soon, they arrived outside of the house. It had gone into such a bad state of repair since Mr Deacon's son had last seen it.  
"Oh dad…" he sighed.  
"Come on…." cajoled Tom to the son as the pair of them walked up to Mr Deacon's front door. Tom would knock first acting as if he was delivering a parcel and that would then be the moment to let the son take over the situation. After a brief knock at the door, it slowly creaked open and there peered Mr Deacon. His old withered face and big block glasses showed his age instantly before his scowl turned the situation back to its normal ways.  
"Yes?" called Mr Deacon hoarsely.  
"I've got a parcel for you Mr Deacon…" said Tom cheerily.  
"I'm not expecting one. Go away…." he huffed before he began to slowly close the door. Mr Deacon's son was just out of view and couldn't believe this was his dad. He had to stop it now before the moment would be gone.  
"Dad…" he then called out. Mr Deacon froze in shock.  
"Reg?" he then called out as he looked round the door. Tom stepped aside and let the pair of them get reacquainted with one another. "It is you…." Mr Deacon then added.  
"Dad…" said the son once more before the pair of them hugged. Felicity and Tom just smiled and to both their surprise they saw Mr Deacon smile widely.  
"Are you back here permanently?" Mr Deacon asked.  
"Not forever dad, but enough to get the house in order again. How could you let it get this bad?" Reg then said to his dad.  
"I've struggled to cope since your mother passed on. I've made sure it's just me around…"  
"It's been 15 years dad. This isn't right. I've only come because these lovely folks called and asked me to. Why haven't you been responding to my phone calls or letters? I was worried for you." Reg then asked with clear concern on his face.  
"I don't know. I just wanted to be on my own in a way but I know that was wrong. I'm sorry, Reg." he then apologised. Tom was just about to make his way back to Felicity before Mr Deacon collared him back. "Thankyou…" he said. "Thanks for this."  
"No problem, sir…..it was Felicity's idea anyway." Tom then pointed out. Mr Deacon just smiled at waved towards Felicity. She felt happy and proud with herself. Persistence had seemingly paid off.

From now on when passing by Mr Deacon's house, Tom and Felicity don't have to worry at all. Mr Deacon is friendly to all and with his son coming to visit more regularly, the house is beginning to look so much better. He is never without a smile now and for all involved with the postal service, it is nice to see Mr Deacon looking happy. Deep down he was a nice man and has since become great friends with many of them. He's a keen painter in his spare time too and has even painted a picture of Tom and Felicity as a thank you. It stands up proudly in the postal depot and keeps everyone happy, just like Reg had made his father happy. Smiles are around on Sodor from now on…


End file.
